Two related stories emerged this week regarding Condé Nast's publishing operations, and at the center of it all lie many of the problems with our modern media. It was yet another case of a publication facing restrictions, and it led to yet another example of a new class of journalists infecting the industry with an activist, almost anti-social mindset in the workplace.
First off, in case you missed it melodramaEarlier this week, it was announced that hyper-left source Teen Vogue would be made redundant, with most of its editorial team laid off and all remaining staff and content transferred to its parent publication. Over the years, this portal has been the source of some aggressively leftist content aimed at the formative class of the country, push everything from sex worker acceptance, abortion activism, and even actively promoting communist positions.
Following the announcement, news emerged Thursday of a disturbance at Condé Nast's offices involving representatives from other publications under the publisher's banner to express their dissatisfaction with the publication's closure. The confrontation reportedly involved HR director Stan Duncan and continued after he refused to involve employees. This led to the departure of several employees, including from WIRED Magazine, The New Yorker and Bon Appétit.
— Max Tani (@maxwelltani) November 6, 2025
This piece traces what has happened over the years to other employees of various media outlets, where a new class of employees are coming in with a sense of unearned power and privilege and acting as if they have some level of influence well above their pay grade. This was very clearly expressed in the New York Times, where, as you may recall, there was a staff riot because Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton wrote an editorial. The Washington Post has seen some rebellion in the past year, with newsroom executives and executives making decisions such as refusing to endorse a presidential candidate.
This summer, the New York Times saw another internal fight when a journalist dared to accurately report on Zoran Mamdani. Reporter Ben Ryan published an article about Mamdani in which he stated that he was a black man on his college application. POC columnist Jamel Bouie reports. attack personally on Ryan, and the newspaper was forced give an explanation about the whole matter.
All this because Ryan was accurate. Not only did he provide evidence of this misappropriation, but Mamdani even confirmed that he had indeed completed his application in this manner.
So this news coming from the office of another publisher is hardly surprising, and now it becomes even more revealing. For reasons perhaps related to the rationale behind their defense, a video of this confrontation at the Condé Nast offices has surfaced, showing all the abuse we've heard about over the years. We see these employees acting like insufferable scolders, ignoring the instructions of their boss, acting as if they are supposed to have some kind of audience. It's confusing.
The most awkward thing you'll see today: Condé Nast employees confront HR chief Stan Duncan about layoffs outside his 34th floor office.
The four employees shown in this exclusive video of the confrontation were then fired for “extreme misconduct.”
All… pic.twitter.com/Ze6Vmyz0iI
— TheWrap (@TheWrap) November 6, 2025
The most surprising thing is that Duncan did not coddle these weirdos, as has been seen all too often in these media maelstroms. He correctly ordered them to return to work, and after a while he took appropriate steps and released these demanding guys.
Now we also get an idea of the possible motives for this “rebellion.” Apparently, one of the participants in the melodrama had a romantic relationship with one of the fired Teen Vogue employees; both figures place themselves in the category of respected activist subcultures seen today.
We will send thank you notes to both @DailyMail And @CondeNast Publication for this donation.
It will be curated in our Woke Wing.#Newseum pic.twitter.com/0SbsEL04N4— Brad Slager: CNN+ Lifetime Subscriber (@MartiniShark) November 7, 2025
What we see on the display should be considered encouraging. This time we have managers who seem to be tired of the destructive and unproductive behavior of coddled and ignorant employee activists. What these activist-minded, power-obsessed subordinates don't realize is that they plied their trade in an industry facing market pressures, and if they don't effectively contribute to the company's well-being, they are now seen as a drain.
The media can no longer tolerate those who negatively influence their activities. The days of woke kindergarteners in the office are coming to an end, and those roaring, ratcheting jaws are realizing that they are not irreplaceable—in this climate, they are disposable.
We're just left with the mysterious concept that people actually think that fighting for a publication as alarming as Teen Vogue is the hill on which to watch your career die.
THURSDAY: “That’s right, I defended @TeenVogue!!!”
SATURDAY MORNING: (“Oh my gosh, why did I go fight for this pro-communist mental trash bin to protect sex workers…?!?!?!”)
— Brad Slager: CNN+ Lifetime Subscriber (@MartiniShark) November 6, 2025
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